4 Reasons to Use Copy Content to Prepare an Ultra Course

Thu, 02 May 2024 14:39:03 -0400
blackboard, course-copy, course-migration, quick-tips, ultra-experience

It’s the start of a new semester and you open Blackboard to discover a new Ultra course. As you look over your course materials, gathered and perfected over years of teaching, the thought of transferring all these resources into a new format may feel overwhelming -- but there's good news! Blackboard Ultra's course copy feature is designed to make this transition as smooth and straightforward as possible, ensuring that you can focus more on teaching and less on the technical setup.

Let's explore how this powerful tool can be your ally in effortlessly moving your entire course, or even just selecting materials, into the Ultra environment.

Image 1: Example of the Course Copy tool in an Ultra course

Why Choose Course Copy?

The course copy function is the preferred method for migrating any content between Blackboard courses, whether Ultra to Ultra or Original to Ultra.

Simplicity and Convenience: Course copy can be performed directly within your Ultra course, requiring no intermediate steps such as file downloads and uploads. This direct approach reduces the risk of errors and simplifies the process.

Immediate Access: Once copied, materials are immediately available for editing and use in the Ultra course. There is no waiting period, as is often the case with the processing of exported course packages.

Reduced Technical Load: By not having to deal with export files, you avoid potential technical issues such as file compatibility or corruption. This straightforward method means that even those with minimal technical expertise can successfully transition their courses.

Focus on Teaching, Not Technology: Our goal is for you to focus on what you do best -- teaching. The course copy feature supports this by minimizing the time spent on course administration, allowing you to dedicate more time to student interaction and instructional innovation.

The Advantages of Course Copy Over Export/Import Methods

The course copy feature in Blackboard Ultra is designed to alleviate the complexities typically associated with digital transitions. This tool allows faculty to migrate content in many ways, some exclusive to Ultra.

Copying an Entire Course: This approach is ideal if you wish to transfer all your course content at once. It saves significant time and effort, as it eliminates the need to recreate or manually transfer each component of your course. This method ensures that the structure and integrity of your original course are maintained, providing a familiar environment for both you and your students in Ultra.

Copying Individual Course Items: Sometimes, you may find that only certain materials need to be moved to a new course. Ultra allows for the selective copying of items such assignments, tests, and specific content sections -- even a single item! This flexibility is crucial for tailoring your course without the necessity of transferring irrelevant or outdated materials.

Image 2: Example of selecting specific content types from a course.

Copying Content From Multiple Sources: Ultra’s course copy tools allow you to copy content from one or more courses at the same time -- whether that content is an entire folder or individual pieces of content. You can even choose to copy content from an organization.

Copy Content Contextually: The course copy tools are not limited to a holistic approach. Wherever the purple plus sign appears -- top, bottom, middle, even within a folder or learning module -- you can copy content into your course and it will be placed exactly where you want it to go. This is an enormously powerful way to customize the design and organization of your course.

Image 3: Click the purple plus on your Content Outline to copy content exactly where you want it.

In some circumstances, transferring course content might involve exporting from one course and then importing a zip file to the new course -- for example, bringing content from another institution (whether it used Blackboard or another LMS) or bringing content saved after courses are archived. However, since the import function is now disabled in our Blackboard environment, faculty who may need to import a content package from Original or another learning management system should open an RT ticket for support.

Important Notes About Course Copy

While we highly recommend the flexibility you have with the Ultra course copy tool, there are a few important details to know before using it so you can plan your pathway.

1. You always start in your new Ultra course and PULL content into it from other courses.

2. You can copy all content or choose to copy only discussions, question banks, rubrics, grade schemes, and/or announcements. Select a specific category and choose individual items. Do you only need one or two announcements or a few question banks from different courses? The course copy tool will help you do it!

3. Copied content is generally passed over in a hidden state to ensure you have a chance to review and revise before students can see it. Tip: Remember to make content "visible to students" or adjust release conditions once you have reviewed or updated it.

4. By default, Ultra courses support up to three levels of hierarchy to enhance the student learning experience. For example, a folder within a folder within a learning module is an example of three levels. However, when content you choose to copy is deeper than three levels, Ultra will flatten the organization and move the content to the lowest supported level. No content is deleted.

5. Student data is not included when you copy a course. This includes grades, assessments, discussions, messages, etc.

6. Check on the status of your course copy by viewing the Course Tasks and Logs, available from the More Options menu next to the search tool. Course copies are queued in order of when they are requested by faculty. If there is high demand, your copy may take a little longer. Running the process again will produce duplicate content so it’s better to wait.

7. Occasionally, the course copy tool may produce an error about progress tracking. Faculty can ignore this error since progress tracking is available by default in all Ultra courses.

The course copy function in Blackboard Ultra represents a seamless and efficient way to move your teaching materials into Ultra, ensuring that you can spend more time teaching and less time managing course logistics.

Connect with Instructional Technology

As always, if you have any questions about teaching, learning, and technology at UMBC, please consider the following options:

Check our extensive FAQ collection

What's new in Ultra? | Known Issues

Open a ticket via RT

Follow the Instructional Technology & DoIT myUMBC groups

Request a consult with instructional technology staff

PIVOT | Academic Continuity | Keep On Teaching | Student Technology Resources

Thumbnail-image: Ultra Quick Tips